Ahlulbayt News Agency: A house in Canada’s London, that had erected signs of solidarity with Palestine, was targeted by an arsonist amid growing Islamophobia in the North American country.
London police are on the hunt for a male arson suspect following a fire incident at a house in the city’s northwest region on Saturday night.
The authorities responded to a fire report at a residence on Wateroak Drive around 10:40 p.m. The fire was successfully extinguished, and no injuries were reported, CBC News reported on Sunday.
Det. Insp. Alex Krygsman stated, “A preliminary investigation revealed that the fire appears to have been deliberately set and the suspect in the fire had obviously fled the scene. At this point we are treating it as a possible hate-motivated incident.”
The suspect reportedly arrived at the house on foot around 9:30 p.m., stole data-x-items from the front yard, including lawn signs showing support for Palestinians, and later returned to start a fire on the front porch before fleeing the scene.
Krygsman added, “There are a number of incidents we are looking into that involve [this residence] since the beginning of May, including some property damage and theft of some signs, and we’re looking into those as well, they form part of the investigation. We have reason to believe that it’s likely the same person but that is subject to further investigation.”
Nawaz Tahir of Hikma Public Affairs Council expressed concern over the incident, especially in light of the recent rise in Islamophobia.
Tahir said that the family residing at the house had received a threatening letter a few weeks prior. “The act of setting fire to somebody’s house is a high hate level event and it’s very concerning for the community,” he said.
This incident occurred just two days after a vigil marking the third anniversary of a hate-motivated truck attack that claimed the lives of four members of a Muslim family on June 6, 2021.
Tahir added, “Each event like this chips away at the safety and security of the community and this one in particular is quite serious.”
The fire caused an estimated damage of $30,000.
The suspect is described as a male between 30 to 50 years of age, with a medium/heavy build, wearing grey shoes, dark pants, a light grey zip-up sweater with vertical black accents on the sides under the arms, a dark-coloured toque, and a medical mask.
Krygsman emphasized, “This is an investigation that is the priority for our police service right now.”
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London police are on the hunt for a male arson suspect following a fire incident at a house in the city’s northwest region on Saturday night.
The authorities responded to a fire report at a residence on Wateroak Drive around 10:40 p.m. The fire was successfully extinguished, and no injuries were reported, CBC News reported on Sunday.
Det. Insp. Alex Krygsman stated, “A preliminary investigation revealed that the fire appears to have been deliberately set and the suspect in the fire had obviously fled the scene. At this point we are treating it as a possible hate-motivated incident.”
The suspect reportedly arrived at the house on foot around 9:30 p.m., stole data-x-items from the front yard, including lawn signs showing support for Palestinians, and later returned to start a fire on the front porch before fleeing the scene.
Krygsman added, “There are a number of incidents we are looking into that involve [this residence] since the beginning of May, including some property damage and theft of some signs, and we’re looking into those as well, they form part of the investigation. We have reason to believe that it’s likely the same person but that is subject to further investigation.”
Nawaz Tahir of Hikma Public Affairs Council expressed concern over the incident, especially in light of the recent rise in Islamophobia.
Tahir said that the family residing at the house had received a threatening letter a few weeks prior. “The act of setting fire to somebody’s house is a high hate level event and it’s very concerning for the community,” he said.
This incident occurred just two days after a vigil marking the third anniversary of a hate-motivated truck attack that claimed the lives of four members of a Muslim family on June 6, 2021.
Tahir added, “Each event like this chips away at the safety and security of the community and this one in particular is quite serious.”
The fire caused an estimated damage of $30,000.
The suspect is described as a male between 30 to 50 years of age, with a medium/heavy build, wearing grey shoes, dark pants, a light grey zip-up sweater with vertical black accents on the sides under the arms, a dark-coloured toque, and a medical mask.
Krygsman emphasized, “This is an investigation that is the priority for our police service right now.”
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